The Dragon Quest series has always had it rough going in North America, with lower sales numbers across its many entries, and several games left as Japan-exclusives because of that. Even as recently as the latest entry, Dragon Quest XI, Square Enix representatives have been quoted as being unsure of the franchise’s continued life overseas, depending of course on sales. Well, according to the NPD numbers from September, perhaps Dragon Quest fans can rest a little easier.

According to the NPD’s Mat Piscatella, Dragon Quest XI‘s launch sales have been the greatest in franchise history, which dates all the way back to Dragon Warrior on the NES. Perhaps more impressive, and maybe even surprising, is that he says the launch sales were more than double those of Dragon Quest IX‘s, which was not only the last core entry of the series to release in North America, but it was also published by Nintendo.

Dragon Quest XI certainly got quite a push this year from Square Enix, but many were worried the game would underperform due to its release timing, mere days before the record-obliterating Marvel’s Spider-Man. While Dragon Quest XI is admittedly more of a niche title in the west, it seems like the extra juice is paying off, at least for the launch period.